Sewing-machine



(No Model() v Q 4 Sheets-Sheet l. E Z'. T. FRENCH 8v W. 0.- MEYER.

A SEWING MAGHINB. 10.412.703.- Patented 0012.8, 11889.,

l'l l 'l su ses amigo?,- Zaak Jeneb 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

z.y TERENCH & W; G. MEYER SEWING MACHINE. v

Patented Got. 8, 1889.

(No Model.)

M5565? Evt/@mfom I .ahem-sheet 3. MEYER.

(NofMoael.) y l Z". T. FRENCH 817W. C

SEWING MAGHINB.

Patented Oct. 8.1889.

N PETERS. fbulvl'llbegmphar, Washington. DC.

(No Model.) v 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.-

z. T. EEENGE su W. c. MEYER. 'Y sE'WINE MACHINE. No. 412.703. yPatented 001;. 8,188.9.

c UNITED STATES E ATENT FFICE ZACHARY T. FRENCH AND WILLIAM C. MEYER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS,

ASSIGNORS TO THE GOODYEAR SHOE IWIACHINERY COMPANY, OF HART- FORD, CONNECTICUT.

SEWING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of letters `Patent No. 412,703, dated October 8, 1889.

' l Application iiled November 23,1887. Serial No. 255,975- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that we,vZAcHARY T. FRENCH and WILLIAM C. MEYER, both of Boston,`

the stitch may be better and more uniformly.

made, the needle-thread required for each succeeding stitch being automatically measured off or taken in advance from a. threadsupply in varying quantity, according to variations in the thickness of the stock.-

Our improved machine is provided with a clamp and a pull-off to act directly upon the' needle-thread, the pull-offV acting, while the said thread is clamped, topthus take from a tension'device or the thread-supply a variable amount of thread for the needle, and hence called needle-thread, and the said pull-off is so constructed as to en able the crossing or locking point of the two threads used to bedrawn into the sole or stock, or into a channel therein for a uniform distance from its outer side, notwithstanding variations in the thickness of the sole or stock.

In our invention the needle-thread taken from the thread-tension or a thread-supply, which may be a suitable spool, ball, or cop, is acted 4upon by a clamp and a pull-off before it is passed through the eye of the looper to be supplied to the hook of the hooked needle, the said clamp being located between the pull-off land the take-up, which is employed to take up the loop of thread cast off from the shuttle, the clamp, as herein shown, actthread to draw from the thread-supply a sufi- 5o cient quantity of needle-thread to form the next stitch, the movement ofthe pull-off at' such time being ,variable according to the thickness of the stock, the clamp preventing the thread supplied for the previous stitch from being drawn back, and atthis same time the take-up acts to draw up the loop of needle-thread cast off from the shuttle, and to set the stitch. The stitch having been set and a sufficient quantity of needle-thread having 6o been pulled off for the next stitch, the clamp changes its position and clamps the thread between the pull-off and the needle-thread supply, and then the pull-off commences to rise, and at such time an auxiliary take-up, to be described, also rises through the action of a suitable spring, thus taking up the needlethread given up by the pull-off while the clamp held the Yneedle-thread between the pull-off and thread-supply, the said auxiliary take-up 7o preventing any retrograde movement of the needle-thread, while'the clamp again changes its .position preparatory to pulling off aseoond portion of needle-thread, the said auxiliary take-up thereafter giving up the needlethread stored up or held by it to the stitchforming devices. The pull-olf is operatively connected with the work support or table through a vari able-motion mechanism, whereby the pull-off has more or less movement im- 8o parted to it through changes in position of the said work support or table, the position of the'latter being determined by the thickness of the stock. The said variable-motion mechanism is provided with means to control the extent to which the locking or crossing point of the two threads may be made to sink into the outer sole or stock, the said crossing-point being at a definite distance from the outer side'of the sole or the upper 9o side of the stock, whatever may be the thickness of the said sole or stock.

In the machine herein vto lbe described, wherein a sufficient quantity of needle-thread is positively and automatically drawn off from the thread-supply before the commencement of the stitch nextto be made, it will be understood that the shuttle when entering the loop of needle-thread does not and need not subject the said needle-thread to a strain such as would tend to cause the previous stitch to be unduly embedded into and to the injury of the under side of the stock, or to the welt, which, when our machine is used to stitch a welted shoe, rests on the work support or table.

The looper herein to be described has imparted to it two motions, one of reciprocation and the other a slight rocking motion, bypeculiar mechanism to be described.

We have provided a hook to co-operate with the looper, the said hook receiving upon it a needle-thread during the movement of the looper around the needle, the said hook acting to hold the needle-thread while the looper passes or crosses the path of movement of the hooked needle at its hooked side to lay the needle-thread into the hook of the needle just before the needle rises.

To prevent the loop of needle-thread cast off from the .shuttle from getting in the way of the needle, we have provided aloop-guide, the same being located near that part of the shuttle-race where the loop is discharged, and having its delivery end terminating near the surface of the stock.

Figure 1 is a right-hand-side elevation of a suicient portion of a sewing-machine containing our improvements to enable the same to be understood; Fig. l, an enlarged perspective of the loop-expander 147. Fig. 2 is a top or plan view of the machine shown in Fig. 1; Fig.l 3, a front elevation thereof; Fig. 3, a detail showing the shoe cdetached and a section of it; Fig. 4, a left-hand-side elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1. Figs. 5 and 6 represent in elevation and section our improved shuttle. Fig. 7 is a section of the machine shown in Fig. 3 on the line :n as, looking .toward the left. Fig. 8 is a detail of thelooper and its actuating mechanism. Fig. 5SL is a diagram showing a part of the hooked needle and looper and thread, the dotted lines showing the direction of the movement of the looper when supplying the needle with thread. Fig. 9 is a section in the line of Fig. 8. Figs. 10, l1, and 12 represent details of the shuttle race and driver with its connected pad and of the driver and pad; and Fig. 13 is a detail chiey to show the awl-carrying segment and the actuating device therefor.

The column A has bolted to it at its upper end a plate A, which receives the pivots or studs for the pull-oif, the take-up to be described and rocking hub carrying the clamp 5, the studs for the rolls 3 4, and the stud 3U, on which turns the roll als and the auxiliary take-up. The plate A has bolted to it the bottom plate of the head A2, it having uprights A12 to form bearing for the main shaft A3, and other uprights to form bearings for other working parts. The shaft A3 is or may be driven by power applied to the wheel A4. The shaft A3 has fast upon it near its righthand end a cam l), having a groove 6, which receives in it a roll e at the end of a slotted lever f, pivoted at 7 on a iixed part, as g, of the head of the machine, the said lever ernbracing a stud h, erected on a horizontallyextended part of a feed-carriage j, the vibra- .tion of the said lever causing the said carriage to be reciprocated in aguideway in the said bracket g. The carriage j has a stud t, which serves as the fulcru n1 for the awlcarry ing segment s, (see Figs. 1 and 13,) to which is attached the curved awl 7'. The awl r acts to feed the material as the carriage j is moved horizontally with the awl in the stock. In practice the said segment will be moved as in United States Patent No. 240,307, wherein the parts of the awl-feeding mechanism referred to are designated by like letters.

The carriage j receives in it a bar m, provided at its lower end with a presser-foot and ehannelguide m', it bearing on the upper side of the outer sole .or stock m2, (partially shown in Fig. 1 as resting on the work support or table 15,) a projection or lip of the said foot entering a channel cut in the usual manner in the outer sole. The upper end of the bar m has a roller or other stud, which is embraced by the slotted endl of a lever m, pivoted on a stud mx, (see dotted lines, Figs. 1 and 2,) the rear end of thesaid lever having a roller m5, which is acted upon by a periphery of a cam c, it being the second cam fast on t-he shaft A3 from its right-hand end, the said presser always forcing the upper surfaces of the sole or stock down to a predetermined level whatever may be vthe thickness of the stock.

The segment 18, to which is secured the curved hooked needle 16, is loose on the bolt or stud 19 in the head of the machine, it being in line with the stud t. The segment 18 is engaged and moved bythe toothed end 21 of the lever 22, pivoted at `23, the said lever having a roller or other stud 23x, which enters the groove 22X of the cam-hub d, fast on the shaft A3, it having at its periphery three cam-surfaces 51, 013, and o2, to be described.

The hooked needle, its actuating mechanism, and the needle-guide 26, the toothed sector 28, to which it is attached, and which is engaged and actuated by the pinion a: on the shaft 29, are also common to the said patent, and so need not be herein more fully described.

The work support or table consists, essentially, of a projection 15, having a slot for the passage of the needle and awl, and of a swingpiece 44, to which the projection 15 is secured, the said swing-piece being pivoted at 45. The work support or table at its lower end has an arm 46, (see Fig. 1,) which enters a slot in a slide-bar 47, the parts 44 45 46 47 being also common to the said patent. Herein the said slide-bar 47 has at its rear end a projection carrying an adjustable screw Z7', to which is attached a spiral spring b2, the opposite end of the spring being attached to a stud b3 on the head A2, the said spring normally acting to force the bar 47 forward, so as to keep the IOO IOS

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i the opposite end oil the said rocking hub bework-support thus made yielding pressed upi ratchetlteeth, (partially shown at b4, Fig. 1,)

which are engaged by two like pawls, one only of which is shown in Fig. 1, mounted upon a lever h6, having its fulcrum at 197, the upper end of thesaid lever having' a roller or other stud, as ha, (see dotted lines, Fig. 1,) which enters a cam-groove at the inner side of the cam b, the said cam-groove operating the said lever to maintain the pawls in engagement with thel ratchet-teeth b4 While the needle acts to penetrate the stock, and also While. the take-up, to be described, acts to set the stitch.

The swing-piece 44 has abackwardly-extended arm, to which is jointed at b9 one end of an adjustable connecting rod 1910, the length of which determines the depth of the crossing or locking point of the threads below the surface of `the outer sole, the opposite end of the said rod being jointed or attached, as by a screw c', tonot only a link c2, but also to a shoe c3, (shown as a block having a dovetail groove,) the shoe being partially broken out in Fig. 3, and shown separately and in section in Fig. 3a enlarged, the said rod, shoe, and link constituting a variable motion device. The shoe c3 is free to slide on one arm c? of a rocking hub C40, free tobe turned or rocked upon a stud c5, attached to a bracket c6 projecting from the plate A',

ing provided with a roll 2, about Which is passed theneedle-thread between the roll 3 and the roll 4, the said roll 2 and the said hub and its arms constituting a pull-off to act on the needle-thread to pull oft or take from the tension device c7 of any usual or suitable construction or from the thread-supply, (not shown,) which may be a spool or cop, a sufficient quantity of needle-thread to form the next stitch to be made. Y

The shoe c3 by a pin d is joined to a link cl2, (see Fig. 1,) in turn jointed at d3 to a lever d4, pivoted at d5, the upper end of the said lever having a suitable roller or other stud, (shown by dotted lines,) which enters a cam-groove c ut in thc right-hand side of the cam c, the said cam moving the said lever d4 Vsupport or table, and, as will be readily understood, the said Worksupport, being turned more or less by variations in thickness of the stock 'm2, will move the shoe c3 in a corre-V sponding manner, so that the said arm c4 and pull-off will have imparted to them a variable stroke-the nearer the shoe c3 to the center of motion c5 of the arm c4, carrying the pull-off,

Athe greater the motion of the pull-ofor the next stitch to be made,` and vice versa.

To insure a right-line movement for the connecting-rod bw and shoe c3, the latter has jointed to it the radius bar or link c2, before referred to, it being pivoted at C17 on the `bracket c6.

Between the rolls 3 4 is placed a clamp 5 `to act directly upon the needle-thread, (see lFig. 7,) attached by a screw 6 to alug 8, forming part of a rocking hub 9, the upwardly- `extended left-hand end of which, viewing the front of the machine, (see Figs. 3 and 4,) receives through it a threaded bolt l0, joined at 30 (see Fig. 4) to the lower end of the leverf31, having its fulcrum at 32, the said rod `at each side of the upwardly-extended portion of the said rocking hub having applied to it like adjusting-nuts 12, the said rod being surrounded between the said hub and the said nuts at each side of the said hub with suitable spiral or other springs 13, which act as cushions when the rod 10 is moved horizontally by the lever 3l, the said springs .at such time acting directly against the upwardly-extended portion of the said rocking hub and enabling the clamp 5 to clamp the thread closely, but yet not pinch it hard enough upon the roll with which it co-operates as to crush or weaken the thread. The lever 31, for moving the rocking hub 9 of the clamp 5, referred to, so that the clamp at one portion of the time during each rotation of the main shaft may clamp the needle-thread w against' one of the rolls 4 or 3, and then against the other, as referred to, has at` its upper end a suitable roller or other stud 33, (shown by full lines in Fig. 3,) which enters a cam-groove cut in the inner side of the cam c2, the said cam-groove being shown by dotted lines at e3 in Fig. 4. After leaving the roll 4 the needle-thread is passed over a roller 34, (see Fig. 7,) mounted loosely upon a stud at the inner end of a lever 35, (see Figs. 1 3, and 4,) pivoted at 36, the said lever being acted upon by a spring 37, connected at one end to a fixed arm 38, so that the said spring normally acts to move t-he roller 34 toward the needle.

The roller 34, lever 35, and spring 37 constitute what we shall call the auxiliary takeup, its purpose being to prevent any retrograde or back movement of the needle-thread While the clamp 5 moves from the roller 4 to the roller 3, the auxiliary take-up taking up any slack thread which may exist at that time and giving it up subsequently to the main takeup, now to be described.

The main take-up consists of alever fn, having, preferably, at its outer end a roll n', the said lever forming part of a rocking hub n2, supported on a stud n3 in the plate A', the said hub at its opposite end having an arm nwhich is connected by a short link a5 with a lever n, having its fulcrum on a stud fn of an arm nB, projecting from one of the uprights or stands supporting the main shaft A3. The

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4to set the stitch, the take-up at no time aeting to draw thread from the thread-supply, but only taking up the thread from the slack made in the needle-thread by or through the action of the pull-oit, as described, and held by the auxiliary take-up. The needle-thread between the take-up roll u and the threadguide or looper 0 is passed over a roll am, mounted upon a stud 3G, which serves as the fulcrum for the lever of the auxiliary take-up.

By taking the needle-thread from the threadsupply and tension device through the agency of a pull-oit having a variable motion, due to thickness ot' the stock, and holding the thread so pulled off for the stitch next to be made, and giving it up to the take-up as required, the strain upon the take-up is reduced, and, what is of greater importance, the t-hread is not acted upon by a strong force between the junction of the thread with the stock and the pull-off.

Pulling ott from the thread-supply and storing up enough thread for the next stitch to be made makes it unnecessary for the shuttle to draw from the thread-supply during its passage through the loop of needle-thread sufficient thread for the next stitch to be made, and consequently the shuttle does not exert such strain upon the loop of needlethread as to cause it to be drawn and embedded too far into the welt or into the lower side of the stock to its injury.

Adjusting the length of the connecting-rod bw through the right and left threaded nut40 thereon makes it possible to control the depth to which the locking or crossing points of the needle and shuttle threads shall be drawn below the upper side of the sole or stock upon which rests the presser-foot, the said lockilig-point being maintained at a uniform distance from the upper surface of the sole next the presser-foot, notwithstanding variations in the thickness of the sole or stock. By shortening the rod bl the stroke of the pull-oit may be increased to thereby enable it to pull ott from the thread-supply more of the needle-thread, thus giving more thread for the loop of needle-thread, which enables the locking or crossing point of the thread to come nearer the upper side of the stock; but

by lengthening the said rod so as to pull ofi' a less quantity of needle-thread to shorten the loop therein the locking or crossing point of the two threads will be brought closer to the under side of the stock.

It will be understood that the shuttletliread accommodates itself to the needlethread, and as the loop of needle-thread varies in length, the length of which may be controlled as desired, the loop of shuttletliread is drawn more or less into the stock.

The loopcr is composed,essentially, of an arm o, having an eye, and an arm o', having a split hub, as o2, which by a screw, as o3, is clamped upon the forward end of a sleeve 04, mounted in bearings 05, the said sleeve at its rear end being provided with an annularly-grooved hub o, in which enters a swivel-block o7 at the end of a horizontally-sliding link o8, pivoted to the lower end of an elbow-lever 09, having itsfulcrum at 010, the said lever having near its central bent portion a cam-roll 012, which is acted upon by a cam projection om .at the periphery of the cani-hub d, the said roll being kept in contact with the periphery of the said cani by a spring, as 01, attached to the said lever, and to a pin, as o1, erected upon the bearing 05. The sleeve o4, hollow for the passage through it of the needlethread, has splined upon it a hub 0X, having a sector ol, which is engaged by a sector-1ever 017, pivoted on a stud 018, and provided with a cam-roll o1, which is acted upon by a cam 020 at the side of the cam 013, before referred to. The connection between the hub oX and the sleeve o4 is such that the latter is free to slide longitudinally through the former, both, however, rocking together. The cam-roll o19 is normally kept against the peripherie cam 020 of the cam-hub (l, referred to, by a spring 42, (see Fig. 4,) resting upon the plate A2, the movement of the lever o17 bythe cam rocking the loopcr, While the movement ot' the lever o9 causes it to be moved horizontally, the combined movements of the loopcr through the devices or instrumentalit-ies described being such as to cause the deliveryeye at the end of the looper to follow in the path of substantially the shapedesignated by the dotted-line diagram near its end in Fig. 81.

The looper o, starting from the point 43, moves to the left in the direction of the arrow G0 upon the said diagram to the point 44, when it turns aside and travels in a curved path about the hook p, continuing its motion u'ntil its reaches the point 45, laying its thread, as shown by the full lines, Fig. 8, upon the end of the hook p, the thread being bent about the needle 16 and laid into its hook. The looper having arrived at the point 45, the needle 1G commences to rise, taking with it the thread w, and then the looper starts back along its former path and follows in the direction of the dotted lines (represented bythe arrow 47) to the point 43, from which it started, where its movement is temporarily arrested, with its eye in the line or direction of strain upon the thread, it remaining there until the stitch is set, thus obviating undue friction of the needle-thread in the eye of the loopcr, the awl at suoli time piercing the stock and feeding the material over the work-support.

The hook p is attached to a hook-holding arm secured to the frame-work by a bolt 46.

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(See Fig. 4.) rlhe loop of needle-threaddrawn throu'gh the material by the hooked'f needle 1.6 is4 caught by the lower hooked end of the spreader 147, (shown separately in-Fig. 1%) the said l spreader 'being connectedy to a spreader-lever 48, pivoted at 49, the spreaderleverhaving a roll 50, (seeFig. 2,) which is acted upon by thepperipheric cam 51 ofthe ca1n-hub d, referred to, att-ached to the main shaft, the said spreader acting to draw up the loop of needle-thread and hold it for the,

entrance therein of the point 52 of the shuttle D. A spring 53, connected to jan arm of the' lever 48, and also to a fixed part of the frame, normally keeps the roll 50 in contact with its actuating-cam. The lever 48 receives through it a bolt 54, which is also extended through a slot Ain an ear 55, extended upward from or forming part of the shuttle-case, the said ear and bolt serving as a guide for the lever 48, to prevent any side inption or vibration thereof.

The shuttleD (shown separately in Figs. 5 and 6) for more than two hundred and seventy degrees is circular, the shell or body of the shuttle having at its outer edge a bearingrib 56.

, The shuttle. D receives within it a cop or ball, as 57, of waxed thread, which is drawn from the center of the ball through a hole, as 58, in a` lid 59, pivoted at to the shell, the said lid having attached to it by screws 6l a delivery projection or button 62, having a thread-delivery hole 63, located at the center of oscillation of the shuttle, but at one side of the center o f the ball, the shuttlethread 64 being thus delivered from the shuttledirectly at its center of oscillation, yet enabling the ballto be made larger and to be formed with but a small central opening, and yet obviate friction of the shuttle-thread upon itself when being drawn from the ball or roll. The shuttle-thread between the said lid and button is acted upon by a tension device 65, shown as a bent spring inserted between the lid and button, one end of the said spring being bent t-o enter one 'of a series of holes 66 in the lid, so that the strength of the spring, and consequently the tension upon the shuttle-thread, may be varied.

The shuttle-shell (see Fig. 5) has connected with it a spring hook or latch 67, which engages a notched or beveled part of the lid and holds the latter closed.

The shuttle described is placed in a shuttlefrace D', having a circular cavity, and is held therein by a cap, as D2, attached thereto by suitable screws. .(Best shown in Fig. 3.) The said shuttle-race`has a shoulder, which receives against it one side of the projection 56 atv the periphery of the shuttle, the other side of the said projection being acted upon by the cap or cover' D2. The `shuttle-race contains a shuttle-carrier, as D3, it having two proj ections, as 68 69, the projection 69 acting upon the shuttle near its heel, while the projection 68, cylindrical in shape, enters the nearlyecircular space70 at the base of the beak 52 of the shuttle, the projection'69 acting as a driver to move the shuttle through the loop of needle-thread, the projection 68 acting to returnthe shuttle to its startingpoint.

The lid 59 of the shuttle is provided with a raised projection 59X, which is extended to the base of the beak 52 and receives upon it the loop of needle-thread.

1 The shuttle-carrier referred to is attached lto an oscillating shaft D4, provided at its rear end with a pinion 7l, (shown best in Fig. 2,) which is engaged and oscillated by a series of beveled teeth constituting a rack and carried `at the forward bent end of a shuttle-actuating lever D5, having its `fulcrum at D6, the said lever between its ends having aroller or other stud 72, (shown by dotted lines, Fig. 7,) which enters a cam-groove 72X, (shown, also, by dotted lines in said gure,) formed at the left-hand side of the cam-hub el, the said cam-groove moving the said shuttle through an arc of about two hundred and seventy degrees, more or less.

The shuttle-carrier has attached to it by a screw, as 73, a pad, as 74, preferably made of sheet-steel, the said pad being so shaped as to act upon that part of the needle-thread located between the shuttle and carrier, and through which the shuttle is being then moved, the pad so clamping or holding that portion of the loop of needle-thread that the other part of the loop, when cast off from the heel of the shuttle by the take-up, will not be pulled back through the material by the friction of one portion of the loop against the other portion, thus forming slack in the thread between the stitch being set and the previous stitch.

The head of the machine has bolted to it at r a loop-guide r2, (see Figs, 3 and 4,) upon which drops the loop of needle-thread as it is cast off from the heel of the shuttle, the said guide being so shaped or inclined toward the stock as to somewhat detain or guide the said loop while it is being drawn up by the takeup and keep it out of the way of the needle.

In Fig.,3 we have shown the loop of needlethread as upon the guide r2 and in the act of being drawn down and off from the said guide.

We do not herein broadly claim the combination, with a curved hooked needle and a curved feeding-awl, of an oscillating shuttle; nor do we claim anything shown in United States Patent No. 366,935.

We are aware that prior to our invention a tension device employed in a wax-thread sewing-machine has been acted upon and held while the take-up operated to take up the stitch; but we are not aware that the said threadhas been acted upon directly, as herein described, by a clamp to hold it'intermit#V tin gly between the thread-supply and the take-up; nor are we aware that a pull-off has IOO IOS

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been used in a wax-thread machine to operate with a yielding work support and clamp, such as described, to pull off a variable amount of thread for a stitch to be made.

lVe claim- 1. In a wax-thread sewing-machine, the following instrumentalities, Viz: a work-support, an oscillating curved hooked needle, a looper to supply it with thread, a curved awl, a shuttle-race, a substantially circular shuttle therein, a take-up, a clamp to act directly upon the needle-thread on its way to the takeup, apull-off to act upon the needle-thread between the said clamp and the thread-supply, and means actuating the said clamp and pull-oli, whereby the clamp acts to hold the needle-thread between the pull-off and the take-up,while the pull-oit acts to draw from the thread-supply a sufficient quantity of needlethread for the next stitch to be made, substantially as described.

2. In a wax-thread sewing-machine, the following instrumentalities, viz: a work-support, an oscillating curved hooked needle, a looper to supply it with thread, a curved awl, ashuttle-race, a substantially circular shuttle therein, a take-up, a clamp to act directly upon the needle-thread on its way to the take-up, a pull-o to act upon the needle-thread between the said clamp and the thread-supply, and means actuatingthe said clamp and pull- 0H, whereby the clamp acts to hold the needlethread between the pull-oi and the take-up, while the pull-01T acts to draw from the threadsupply a suihcient quantity of needle-thread for the next stitch to be made, and an auxiliary take-up, to operate substantially as described.

3. In a wax-thread sewing-machine, the following instrumentalities, viz: a circular shuttlc-race, a substantially circular shuttle therein, a curved hooked needle, a thread-guide, a looper to supply it with thread, a take-up to act upon the needle-thread, means to actuate the take-np, a curved awl, means to actuate the said needle and awl, a channel-guide t-o retain the stock at a predetermined level as the needle enters it for each stitch, a threadclamp to act directly upon the needle-thread between the thread-supply and the said takeup, a yielding work-support, a pull-olf to act directly upon the needle-thread between the thread-clamp and the thread-supply, and variable-motion devices intermediate and connecting the said yieldingA work-support on which the work rests with the said pull-off, whereby as the work-support rises and falls, owing to variations in the thickness of the stock upon it, the said pull-off will have given to it automatically a variable throw, to thereby adapt the length of the loop of needle-thread to the thickness of the stock, substantially as A described.

4. In a wax-thread sewingmachine, the curved hooked needle, the yielding work-support, a pull-off consisting, essentially, of a lever having a roll and a sliding shoe mounted upon one arm of the said lever, combined with an adjustable connecting rod or link joined at one end to the said shoe and at its other end to the said work-support, to operate substantially as described.

5. In a wax thread sewing machine, the yielding work-support, the curved hooked needle, and a clamp consisting of a bar, as 5, and rolls 3 4, located at opposite sides the said bar to clamp the needle-thread, a pull-olf to act upon the needle-thread between the said clamp and the thread-supply, and connecting devices between the pull-off and the said yielding work-support, combined with means to automatically operate the said clamp, substantially as described.

6. In a wax-thread sewing-machine, the yielding work-support, the curved hooked needle, and a clamp consisting of a bar, as 5,

and rolls 3 4, located at opposite sides the said bar to clamp the needle-thread, a pull-off to act upon the needle-thread between the said clamp and the thread-supply, and connecting devices between the pull-off and the said yielding work-support, combined with means to automatically operate the said clamp, and with the auxiliary take-up, to operate substantially as described. i

7. Ina wax-thread sewing-machine, the curved oscillating hooked needle and the looper having a hollow shank and upwardlyextended arm o', and bearings for the said shank, combined with gear o1, the segmental lever 017, the lever o9, link o8, and with means to actuate said levers to not only reciprocate the said looper, but to also impart a slight rocking motion thereto, substantially as described.

8. In a wax-thread sewingmachine, the yielding work-support, the curved hooked needle, a take-up for the needle-thread, a shuttle, and a shuttle-race therefor, combined with a loop-guide, as r2, located between the shuttle-race and the said work-support and having its delivery end terminating near the upper side of the stock being sewed, the said loop-guide receiving upon it and guiding the loop of needle-thread as it is discharged from the shuttle and during the time the loop is being drawn down to the work by the takeup, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ZACHARY T. FRENCH. WILLIAM C. MEYER. Witnesses:

G. W. GREGORY, J. C. SEARS.

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